The Southampton Publick House, settled in at its relatively new Job’s Lane location, is serving Sunday brunch from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. A $16 prix fixe includes pancakes, French toast, eggs Benedict, huevos rancheros, quiche, omelets, and steak and eggs, along with coffee or tea. 

The Publick House will tap its first keg of this year’s Octoberfest Lager at the start of a 4 p.m. happy hour tomorrow. That will kick off a celebration to include German dinner specials such as sauerbraten, ale-braised short ribs, horseradish-crusted cod, smoked salmon salad, and a bratwurst and knockwurst platter. Happy hour drink specials will be offered as well. 

Learn About Wine

A new wine-tasting workshop series begins at Wainscott Main Wine and Spirits on Oct. 5. The fall session will take place weekly on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. through Dec. 7, and will include, besides different presentations, a BYOC (bring your own cheese) potluck, with participants encouraged to bring noshes to contribute to the appetizers served weekly. At the first session, Andrew Bell of American Sommelier will give a refresher course on “tasting like a pro,” and at the last session, in December, Michael Cohen, the wine director at the 1770 House restaurant in East Hampton, will give his “Shop It Like a Somm: Value Wines for Your Celebration Table” talk. Information on sessions in between, and registration information, is available on the shop’s website. Each session costs $10; all levels of oenophiles will be welcomed, and R.S.V.P.s have been encouraged. 

Pancakes in Paris and Sag

Pancakes will be served at Canio’s Books in Sag Harbor following a talk on Saturday at 5 p.m. by Craig Carlson, the author of a memoir, “Pancakes in Paris: Living the American Dream in France.” The book discusses his efforts to introduce the traditional American breakfast to Parisians. 

Nick and Toni’s Brunch

Another Sunday brunch choice is Nick and Toni’s in East Hampton, which offers an a la carte menu and specialty brunch cocktails each week between 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.  Pastries, salads, pizzas, egg dishes, pasta, and more are on the menu. 

Evening Eats

At Momi Ramen in East Hampton, a bar menu offered on Fridays and Saturdays from 8 to 10 p.m. includes oshinko (Japanese pickled vegetables) and eda­mame for $5; two types of gyoza, a Japanese-style dumpling, for $8, and kara-age, fried items, for $8.

Pre-Theater Dinner

In conjunction with Guild Hall’s John Drew Theater Lab shows on Tuesday and on Oct. 4, the 1770 House in East Hampton will offer a $27 prix fixe dinner for those who place orders by 6:30 p.m. in order to make the theater’s 7:30  curtain time. A starter and main course, or main course and dessert, can be ordered off the a la carte menu. Reservations must be made using the code JDTLab. 

Fall Sports, Food, Drink

At Townline BBQ in Sagaponack, specials available at the bar Thursdays and Fridays from 4 to 7 p.m., and all day on Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays to coincide with football games, include drinks as well as orders of half a dozen chicken wings (choice of style) for $6, and a cheeseburger or hot dog with fries and a beer for $9, or without the beer for $6.50. 

At Indian Wells Tavern in Amagansett, a snacks menu will accompany drink specials offered in the bar room on Sundays and Thursdays. Wings, nachos, chili, chowder, quesadillas, potstickers, and more are among the snacks. On Monday nights during football games, a burger, a half-dozen wings, and a draft beer can be had for $25. 

Your mind may already be turning to pumpkins and apples this time of year (or mush, depending on how busy your summer was), but it’s time to get to work. If you want to save some of the glorious corn, tomatoes, herbs, and more to enjoy throughout the winter, you need to get cracking. 

Gather up your plastic containers and recycled jars and hit the farm stands with a vengeance.

I am not an expert at canning, but I am very industrious when it comes to freezing. And there is no greater pleasure than to pull out a Ziploc bag of frozen, blanched corn kernels to turn into a chowder in the middle of February. 

By this time of year, I have tried numerous kinds of corn from various locations. Some of the best has been from the Daytons’ farm stand at the corner of Stephen Hand’s Path and Route 114 in East Hampton. I buy three or four dozen ears, then shuck and blanch them. After cutting off the cob I pack them into Ziploc baggies and freeze them. They will come out a bit watery after defrosting, but the flavor of pure sunshine remains. (Note to self: Buy one of those vacuum sealers.). From there I make a simple sauté of onions, peppers, and mix the corn in at the last minute. 

With large tomatoes I make marinara sauce. Since I don’t have a food mill, I seed and peel them first and leave it chunky. The best way to peel tomatoes, especially large quantities, is to cut a small, very shallow cross through the skin and drop them into boiling water for about 20 to 30 seconds. After that, the skins will slide right off. 

Because they are so sweet, I also like to roast the smaller red and orange cherry tomatoes with some whole cloves of peeled garlic, olive oil, and salt. I toss them around with the oil and seasonings, and then spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet. I bake them at 350 degrees until most have gotten puckery and wilted, stirring occasionally. Once cool, I pack into plastic tubs and freeze. These are delicious on top of any baked white fish or in a simple salad of arugula and toasted pecans with a honey vinaigrette. I purposely leave out herbs such as basil, thyme, or rosemary, because I prefer to introduce the fresh herbs when I prepare the dish and tailor it accordingly.

And what about all those herbs flourishing in your garden? If you are lucky enough to have lots of basil, make pesto and either freeze it in ice cube trays for small amounts to add to vegetable soup or use half-pint plastic containers. I leave out the cheese and nuts so the pesto is just pure basil, garlic, and olive oil. If you blanch the basil leaves first, they will retain their glorious green hue forever. 

There’s really no point in freezing or drying parsley, chives, or cilantro. But oilier herbs such as rosemary, thyme, and sage are perfect for drying. I spread them out on cookie sheets and shove them under the bed of the guest room until ready to stem and place in jars. I have also had great luck with drying peppermint leaves and lemon verbena for teas. They don’t last forever, but they will certainly last one winter.

Another way to save the flavors of summer is to make a vegetable tian. Layer sliced potatoes, onions, zucchini, and tomatoes in a single layer each, adding salt and pepper and chopped thyme leaves. Drizzle with olive oil, bake, cool, and then freeze. You can top it with shredded Gruyere or Parmesan cheese when you reheat it. The beauty of this dish is that you can use less-than-perfectly-ripe tomatoes and those zucchinis that got away from you and grew into billy clubs.

Some people are fans of dehydrating fruits and vegetables, but this can be tricky without a dehydrator. You must cut the chosen items in uniform, extra-thin slices, which is best done with a mandoline. If you have a convection oven setting on your oven, which blows air around, ensuring even drying, then you could try it that way. But you will be chained to the kitchen for six to eight hours if you go this route.

I admire folks who can and preserve and pickle, but I have no aptitude for these methods. I cheat by buying these vacuum-sealed-by-professionals items at Balsam Farms and other farm stands and markets.

All of these methods require time and attention, not to mention picking, shopping, washing, chopping, and cooking. But the rewards mid-winter will make you happy. Heck, just seeing all these summer goodies in the freezer makes me smile. I see the frozen striped bass filets next to the corn niblets next to the cherry tomatoes, and I can see a full menu with black olives and lemon slices added to the tomatoes to top the fish. The corn can be mixed into some mashed potatoes to go alongside. Finish this off with the Briermere Farm raspberry peach pie I bought a few weeks ago, and it won’t seem so bad that soon our sun will be setting at (gulp!) 4:30 in the afternoon.

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With the Olympics set to begin in Rio, Townline BBQ in Sagaponack will be serving a Brazilian-inspired cocktail, the watermelon caipirinha, beginning tomorrow. During happy hour the cocktail will be half price, at $6. Olympic events will be shown on the Townline TV throughout the games. Those restaurants in East Hampton with the same ownership will also serve Olympic-themed cocktails. At Rowdy Hall and Nick and Toni’s, a passion fruit caipirinha will be offered; the games will be screened outdoors in Rowdy’s courtyard. 

The Summer Olympics will be celebrated at Indian Wells Tavern in Amagansett with food and beer specials during the games, which will be shown in the bar area. Specials will include several beers for $4 or $6 and a Brazilian churasco skewer, with chicken, steak, or sausage, and a fried plantain, for $10.

At the Market

The Amagansett Farmers Market has had some additions. Cinque Family Wines has opened a satellite tasting room at the site, offering East End and other Long Island wines for purchase and sampling daily from noon to 7 p.m. In celebration of the opening of the tasting room, a stand featuring $1 Montauk Pearl oysters on the half shell will be offered tomorrow from 5 to 7 p.m. and on Saturday from 4 to 7.

Also at the market, Around the Fire Catering is now serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner from Thursday through Sunday. The menu includes smoked chicken, salads, sides, and pizza for lunch and dinner, along with a special kind of breakfast pie.

Barbecue in the Vines

Roman Roth, the winemaker at the Wolffer Estate Vineyard in Sagaponack, will present a preview taste of the winery’s Christian’s Cuvée 2013 at a barbecue dinner on Wednesday night. Reservations are $95 per person, or $80 for members of the vineyard’s wine club.

Doughnuts and Coffee

Grindstone Coffee and Donuts has opened on Sag Harbor’s Main Street. On the menu is Four Barrel Coffee, a San Francisco brew, along with brioche-style doughnuts made fresh throughout the day using locally ground flour from Amber Waves Farm. Varieties include blueberry lemon, chocolate with toffee popcorn, and peanut butter mousse with chocolate. Fresh-pressed juices are available as well. 

Snacks at the Maidstone

A “Get Shucked” raw bar on Sundays from 3 to 6 p.m. at c/o the Maidstone in East Hampton features $2.25 Peconic Bay oysters, $1 local Little Neck clams, and a $4 crab cocktail. 

Jamaican Cuisine

The Soursop Tree Café, which has taken the spot above Plaza Sports in Montauk where Wok ’n’ Roll used to be, is serving Jamaican dishes like fish and chips, jerk chicken, oxtail, fish tacos, Jamaican barbecue, and more. 

The café, open daily for lunch and dinner, for dining in or taking out, is continuing Wok ’n’ Roll’s “you hook ’em, we cook ’em” tradition, allowing people to bring in fresh catches for preparation Caribbean-style.

Jue Lan Club

268 Elm Street

Southampton

631-353-3610

Wednesday through Monday, 

5 p.m.-midnight

This review is dedicated to Freddy the fly, the musca domestica, who died valiantly trying to escape from the glutinous, candied apple syrup of our “hot and numbing crispy beef.” Sorry, Freddy, there was no escape from that quicksand of a sauce.

They call it “vibe dining” and “upscale fare.” They say it “perfectly complements the East End’s residents and vacationers.” They say “our nightlife programming will fill a void in the Hamptons hospitality scene.” They had hoped to avoid being shut down in the wee hours “by landing in a more commercial location six blocks from Main Street.” “They” apparently failed to secure the proper permits for nightlife programming, because that venue was promptly shut down by the neighbors surrounding Jue Lan Club, which also has a nightclub, Elm and Main, an art space, the Barn, and a cigar bar. Cigar bars are still a thing?

Jue Lan Club is the latest restaurant to occupy the space that was Savannah’s for many years, then Delmonico’s, then Circo’s. I have a feeling of déja vu every time I have to go back and review yet another flash in the pan, pop-up restaurant in this location, across from the train station in Southampton.

There is nothing here décor-wise that would tell you this is connected to the Jue Lan Club in New York City, which occupies the former Limelight nightclub. It is still a pretty, white wainscoted space with ceiling fans and simple decoration. There are chopsticks at the place settings and a few black-and-white photographs of John Belushi, Andy Warhol, and Mick Jagger, just to remind you of their connection to the debauched nightlife of the 1970s and ’80s.

The restaurant is labeled as upscale Chinese, but the menu is more Pan-Asian with such offerings as chicken satay, Singapore rice noodles, and curries.

We began our meal with shrimp crystal dumplings, edamame dumplings, crispy rock shrimp tempura, and yellowtail in ghost pepper oil. 

The shrimp dumplings (four to an order) were pretty good, presented in the traditional bamboo steamer basket. They were dense and chewy. There were no individual serving dishes for soy sauce, so we double dipped and dripped. The edamame dumplings came on a plate with an inexplicable pool of sweet water. They were also pretty good, but the filling had a texture of avocado mixed with peanut butter, kind of stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth gluey. 

The crispy rock shrimp tempura was completely lacking in crispness, ergo, it had obviously been fried earlier in the day and reheated. It had a spicy mayo sauce. We ate two or three, and really wished it had been crispy. The yellowtail in ghost pepper oil was supposed to be spicy (ghost peppers can get up to 2,200,000 on the Scoville heat unit scale!), but the dish was mild enough for a toddler. The yellowtail was fresh, but it could have used some acid or salt (or ghost pepper oil) to complement its richness.

For entrees we ordered Peking chicken, hot and numbing crispy beef, salted fish and chicken fried rice, and a side order of wok-seared Brussels sprouts with Chinese bacon. I had thought Peking style chicken was a clever idea, but it was a failure. Duck has far more flavor and moisture than chicken, which is what makes Peking duck such a delight. In this case, the chicken was basically unseasoned, fried and sliced meat served with the traditional accompaniments, of hoisin sauce, julienned cucumbers and scallions, and pancakes. So you could taste the condiments, but the chicken, added nothing to the dish. The hot and numbing crispy beef was an epic fail, not to mention Freddy’s final resting place.

Hot and numbing crispy beef is a classic Sichuan dish. The heat comes from chilies, the numbing sensation from Sichuan peppercorns, and the crispiness from the final frying up of little strips of cheap meat. It should be chewy, crunchy, and very savory. This dish was an orange-red gloppy mixture with soft meat slices. Cow candy. There was absolutely no hint of heat or Sichuan peppercorns. It was pure sugary, candy apple syrup. Once the dish started to cool, the serving spoon got stuck on the plate.

The salted fish and chicken fried rice was not fried rice. It was leftover rice with scrambled egg bits, scallions, dabs of saltfish (preserved cod), and chicken. The wok-charred Brussels sprouts had a few sear marks on them, but they were completely raw, and, like the edamame dumplings, inexplicably sitting in about half an inch of sugary water. Simply dreadful.

The service on the night of our visit was very good. Our waiter, Alex, was delighted to see a couple of dames order so much food; this may have been a first for him. 

Prices are expensive. Raw items range from $4 per oyster to $95 for a seafood tower, appetizers and dim sum are $12 to $25, noodles and rice dishes are $14 to $24, mains are $25 to $70, sides are $14 and $15, and desserts are $12.

We were informed that all desserts are made in-house, but they had run out of most of them. There was cheesecake and molten chocolate cake available so we ordered both. The cheesecake order was forgotten, but who needs cheesecake on a hot and humid summer evening in a “Chinese” restaurant, anyway? Who needs molten chocolate cake, either, for that matter? It was a round cake, with no molten interior, with a blob of Reddi-Whip, and a few artful squirts of Hershey’s chocolate syrup.

There are a lot of restaurants that open for one season, make claims about their cuisine, and transform into nightclubs and discos after hours. Union Cantina, which opened nearby in Southampton, is such a place, as is Jue Lan Club. I recently ate at Union Cantina, which claims to serve “farm-to-table” Mexican fare, and it, too, was dreadful. And what, pray tell, is farm-to-table about avocados, shrimp, and pre-shredded Monterey Jack cheese? Nada. Vibe dining, my heinie.

Foodies, get out your calendars. There are a number of upcoming events, and  the time is now to secure reservations or tickets.

Shuko East

Shuko, a Manhattan Japanese restaurant, will have a pop-up dinner at the Highway Restaurant and Bar in East Hampton on Saturday night. The dinner will be a multi-course tasting menu featuring Shuko favorites. The cost is $200 per person plus tax and gratuity. Reservations may be made by calling Shuko in New York City, or at resy.com. Also on Saturday, light bites will be offered a la carte at the bar along with Shuko-themed cocktails. 

Locally Grown

Lost Foods, New Foods: Artisan Cuisine and Wines on the South Fork at the Southampton Historical Museum on Aug. 25 will highlight locally grown and produced food, focusing, according to a press release, “on efforts to bring back diversity of local foods enjoyed by our ancestors.”

 The Amagansett Food Institute will select and serve local food, wine, and other beverages, including meat and eggs, heritage-variety vegetables, and wild fish and game. Tickets for the 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. event are $125 in advance and $150 at the door, and may be reserved by sending an email to Nicole Hart at [email protected].

Food Truck Derby

The Great Food Truck Derby returns to the Hayground School in Bridgehampton on Friday, Aug. 19, when more than a dozen trucks featuring a wide range of cuisine and beverage choices circle up from 4 to 7 p.m. A $65 ticket entitles one to a serving at every food truck and drinks. A limited number of V.I.P. tickets, at $100, will allow access half an hour before lines of general admission ticketholders begin to form. Food from all trucks is not guaranteed after 5:30 p.m. Tickets may be ordered at the Edible East End magazine website. 

Clambake and Potluck Supper

Al Goldberg, a leader of the Slow Food East End group and a fisherman and chef, will host his third annual clambake and “snail supper” at his East Hampton residence on Aug. 28. The event, which will feature a menu of raw oysters, fish cakes, grilled octopus bites, and braised clams prepared by Mr. Goldberg, with mini cheesecakes for dessert, usually sells out fast. Participants are asked to take an appetizer, salad, vegetable dish, or dessert to share, made with fresh, local ingredients, and their own beverages. Tickets, available at slowfoodeastend.org, are $50 each for Slow Food members and $60 for nonmembers. 

In the Fall

Dopo la Spiaggia, a Sag Harbor Italian restaurant whose name means “after the beach,” is set to open in East Hampton in October at 31 Race Lane. It will take over the space now occupied by Race Lane Restaurant, which was, for many years, home to the Laundry restaurant, now defunct. Dopo la Spiaggia is a collaboration between Maria and Larry Baum, the restaurateurs, and Maurizio Marfoglia, whose Southern Italian cooking features dishes built around local ingredients. 

Market at Duryea’s

The new owners of Duryea’s Lobster Deck and Fish Market in Montauk have added a gourmet Market at Duryea’s to the site, offering local artisanal products. The items range from cheeses, eggs, and yogurt to baked goods, granola, honey, pickles, chips, cookies, bread, produce, and beer. Also available are coffee, newspapers, and fresh flowers. The market is open daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Grey Lady East

440 West Lake Drive

Montauk

631-483-5803

Dinner nightly

First of all, I have to tell you I am not a food snob. I am not even a gourmet, more like a gourmand. I enjoy a chile con queso made with Velveeta “cheese” as much as fresh sea urchin gonads. Yes, uni are gonads, not roe. That being said, we approached Grey Lady East in Montauk with open minds and hearty appetites.

Grey Lady East has taken over Harbor’s space on West Lake Drive in Montauk. There are several other Grey Lady restaurants in Nantucket, Aspen, and New York City. We were looking forward to such classic New England fare as bluefish paté, lobster rolls, and chowdah.

The restaurant is small, with about 50 seats and more on the outdoor deck overlooking the marina. The floors have tiles that resemble weathered barn wood, the ceiling is pressed tin in parts, and the walls are white. Some plastic dune grass flora decorate a few pillars, and a few black and white surfy photos are on the walls in the bar area. Let’s call it “Pier One Imports Meets Michael Dweck Lite.” The banquettes around the perimeter are punishingly uncomfortable, with no seat cushions, although there are some thin padded cushions for the back.

Once we were seated we waited about 15 minutes for someone to notice us, the only guests in the restaurant. There was a pretty girl moving about the room, but she gave us nary a glance or acknowledgment. Eventually, she took our drink order. She was our waitress, after all!

We began our meal with grilled Spanish octopus, buffalo mozzarella with arugula, and beet with endive salad. 

The grilled Spanish octopus, priced at $18, had two tentacles in a bowl of stewed tomatoes, zucchini, a wee bit of corn, and a spicy jalapeno feta sauce. The octopus had good flavor and was very tender. The buffalo mozzarella was a ball of mozzarella served on wilted arugula with four blackberries, two shards of pickled onion, and three edible orchid petals. This dish reminded me of Coco Chanel’s mantra “take one thing off before you walk out the door.” In other words, get rid of that superfluous “enhancement.” The menu said there was also vincotto (an aged, thick, syrupy balsamic vinegar) on the salad, but there was nothing. The mozzarella and arugula had definitely seen better days, more specifically perhaps, the previous Wednesday.

When the beet and endive salad was handed to me (yes, handed to me, not placed on the table), I felt some crusty gradoo on the bottom of the plate. It looked like dried mashed potatoes, but Grey Lady doesn’t serve mashed potatoes, so uh-oh. I had already valiantly removed the hair from the lemon wedges that came with my drink, but this time I had to ask for a cleaner plate. The salad was a huge mound of frisee with a few endive leaves and some sliced beets on a pool of sour cream (“take one thing off before you . . .”). There was also a sprinkling of pistachio powder. The dressing was sweet.

For entrees we ordered the lobster roll (warm with butter), a burger, and cod. The lobster roll came with excellent hand-cut French fries. The lobster was dry and tough. My guest who ordered it, let’s call her Pollyanna, said, “The roll is toasted, that’s nice.” The burger was good, cooked to order, and served with more of the excellent fries. I’m glad it was good, because it is the same price as the Topping Rose House’s burger ($21) and $4 more than the stupendous burgers at Rowdy Hall in East Hampton. 

Fortunately, the third entree, cod in a corn and lemongrass “chowder,” was absolutely delicious. It is described on the menu as being cooked in parchment (which would have steamed it), but it was definitely pan-seared because it had a crunchy exterior. Although we could not detect even a whisper of lemongrass flavor in the creamy sauce, it did have bits of melted leeks and roasted fennel. These were wonderful, flavorful accompaniments to the perfectly cooked cod. But once again, there was an odd addition: some sliced strawberries (!) on top.

The Grey Lady’s website declares “full website coming soon.” But we’re already deep into August, folks. We inquired about the more Nantuckety-style offerings we had seen, such as the aforementioned bluefish paté, but our waitress said they change the menu “almost every day.” So it was orchid petals and strawberries where they don’t belong. There are also no side dishes, and only one dessert offered.

The service on the night of our visit was not very good, as you may have gathered. Our waitress was untrained and uninterested, therefore no names here. We were the only guests indoors, and there was one other group outside. Oh, and an old guy in a fedora with a young blonde, making our Montauk summer dining experience complete!

Prices are $12 to $30 for appetizers, $21 to $36 for entrees. There was one dessert for $10. The dessert on this evening was described as a chocolate and salted almond terrine. It was three little bites of candy bar-like squares with some strawberry slices that had escaped the cod dish, and some Hershey’s syrup situations on the plates. It was pretty good, although petite, a nice fudgy chocolate ganache on top of a slightly chewy, buttery almond bottom.

My guests on this evening are positive and kind and polite people, year-round residents of Montauk. I asked at the end of our meal, “Would you come back here and would you recommend this restaurant to other friends?” The answers were “no” and “no.”

Gala Benefit

Tickets are on sale for Gala in the Garden, a Sept. 10 benefit at Estia’s Little Kitchen in Sag Harbor that will be hosted by Colin Ambrose, the eatery’s owner and chef, and his wife, Jessica Ambrose. 

The evening will include music, hors d’oeuvres, and wine and beer served in Estia’s garden, and a chance to view a collection of limited edition East End wines that will be auctioned off. A sit-down dinner for 100 guests will follow, prepared by Mr. Ambrose along with Paul Del Favero, the chef and owner of Harbor Market and Kitchen. 

The event is a fund-raiser for the ALS Ride for Life, in honor of the late Gerry Hayden, a North Fork chef who died of the disease, as well as for Slow Food East End and Project MOST. The founders of the Slow Food East End chapter, Ted Conklin, Mary and Tom Morgan, and Kate Plumb, will be honored at the gala. Tickets, which are $350, can be reserved at slowfoodeastend.org.

Harvest East End

The East End’s harvest bounty and Long Island wine will be the focus on Saturday at Dan’s Harvest East End, an annual foodies’ event. It will be held at the McCall Vineyard and Ranch in Cutchogue, and feature dishes prepared by a variety of East End restaurants and chefs, and more than 30 wines selected by the Long Island Wine Council. Geoffrey Zakarian, a chef who has appeared on the Food Network’s “Chopped” and “The Kitchen,” along with his newest show, “Cooks vs. Cons,” will be the host. 

V.I.P. tickets, with access starting at 6:30 p.m., are $285; general admission, from 7:30 to 10 p.m., costs $135.

The East End’s restaurants are in end-of-summer mode, just getting through the busy season, so breaking news on that front is slim. But there are a few upcoming events for which foodies might like to line up tickets.

Nadia Ernestus of Hamptons Brine will present “Fermentation With a Kick: Canning Spicy Kraut” on Sept. 4 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Amagansett Farmers Market. Besides demonstrating how to make spicy sauerkraut, she will discuss the health benefits of incorporating fermented foods into one’s diet. Tickets are $45, and the price includes all materials and supplies needed to begin making sauerkraut. They may be reserved online at amagansettfoodinstitute.org. 

Eating for Wellness

“Garden to Table: Eating for Wellness,” a program at Bridge Gardens in Bridgehampton on Sept. 10, will combine a harvesting trip to the vegetable garden, salad making, and tastings, with a talk by Barbara Kinnier of the Wellness Foundation of East Hampton, about how to get all needed nutrients and protein from plant-based foods. Those who attend have been asked to take along a picnic of plant-based foods to eat and share. Admission is $10 a person. Reservations, which are required, can be made with the Peconic Land Trust in Southampton. 

Kids’ Pizza Night

Amber Waves Farm and the Children’s Museum of the East End will mark the end of summer and the start of a new school year with a pizza night on Tuesday from 5:30 to 7 at the farm, which is behind the Amagansett Farmers Market on that hamlet’s Main Street. Pizza-lovers may choose their own toppings for personal pies to be baked in a wood-fired copper oven, and there will be family-friendly activities such as a tour of the farm, crafts, games, and an opportunity to pick fresh flowers. The cost is $35 per person, or $25 for members of CMEE or the Amber Waves C.S.A. program. Space is limited, and preregistration is required with CMEE.

Preview Tonight

A five-course tasting menu to be served at the Surf Lodge in Montauk tonight will be prepared by Gabriel Hedlund, a Swedish chef taking his focus on Nordic cuisine to a new restaurant opening in Manhattan’s East Village next month, to be called n’eat. Mr. Hedlund cooked in several restaurants in Oslo before moving to Copenhagen, where he worked at Noma and Kokkeriet before coming to the U.S. 

A cocktail hour at 7:30 p.m. will be followed by dinner, with dishes centered on local produce and seafood. The cost is $100 per person, excluding tax, gratuity, and beverages. The menu will include cured duck with pine and thyme; lamb tartare with buckwheat, chive, and borage; smoked onion with local fish, house-made fresh cheese and juniper; squid with mushroom, poached egg yolk and brown butter, and short rib with pickled berries and mini-beets.

Longstand Farm Stand

Vicki’s Veggies in Amagansett is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year. The business, with three generations involved, including the stand’s namesake, Vicki Littman, who now works alongside her mother and her daughters, grows its own offerings and also works with local farmers, bakers, and food producers. It has become a go-to spot for many foodies, including a certain ex-Beatle who lives, at least part time, nearby. A celebration tomorrow from 3 to 6 p.m. will include refreshments and other activities.

When eggplants were taken from India to England long ago, they were considered an ornamental plant. They are the only major vegetable of the nightshade family (tomatoes, squash, tobacco, peppers, potatoes) that came from the Old World. According to Harold McGee in his book “On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen,” “an early ancestor may have floated from Africa to India or Southeast Asia where it was domesticated.” Eggplant was being eaten in Italy by the 15th century and in France by the 18th.

If you’ve ever seen an eggplant plant, you might appreciate why it was a prized ornamental. It has furry, soft gray-green leaves with purple veins. The single flowers form deep violet stars, similar to potato flowers. But in the olden days the somewhat bitter fruit was considered poisonous and thought to cause leprosy, insanity, cancer, and a grumpy personality. I kid you not!

Eggplants can be tricky to store and prepare. Because they are a subtropical plant, they do not appreciate the super-cold temperatures of our modern refrigeration. They are best kept for no more than a day or two out on the counter (although they will lose some moisture this way), or refrigerated, wrapped well, in the least cold part of your fridge. Fifty degrees is the ideal storage temperature. The bitterness of some eggplants comes from alkaloids and becomes more pronounced with age. In other words, those big bulbous Black Beauties you buy at the supermarket are the most likely to have some bitterness. So your best bet is to grow your own, or sample some of the freshly picked eggplants at local farm stands.

When it comes to cooking, eggplants are notorious for their spongy texture and ability to soak up gobs of oil. As a matter of fact, an ancient Turkish recipe is called “imam bagildi,” or “the priest fainted,” because the priest got the vapors after he found out how much oil his wife used to make the dish.

Some people believe that salting slices of eggplant draws out the bitterness and reduces the eggplant’s ability to absorb a lot of oil when frying. Mr. McGee doesn’t go for this theory, and says the salting only reduces our perception of the alkaloids and the bulk of the cell fluids remain. Some also believe there is a difference between male and female eggplants, but it really is just age and cold storage that produce bitterness (unless it is a particular, intentionally bitter variety of eggplant, such as those favored in India and Asia).

As far as their spongy ability to absorb oil, there is a simple solution: Don’t fry them. Brush the slices with as much oil as you wish to use, season, broil or roast them, and then proceed with your recipe for eggplant Parmesan or whatever.

The bright side of this absorbent quality and the eggplant’s rather bland but meaty personality is its compatibility with so many other flavors: garlic, tomato, and cheese for Italian dishes, scallions, miso, sesame oil, and pork for Asian dishes, yogurt, pomegranate seeds, and za’atar for Middle Eastern recipes. In India, Iran, and Afghanistan they are pickled and turned into chutneys.

Eggplants are low in calories but have plenty of fiber, potassium, manganese, copper, vitamins B2 and B6, folate, magnesium, niacin, and phytonutrients.

There are so many varieties of eggplants available right now, and so many ways to cook them, you should experiment. Some types you may come across are Caspar, a white, six-inch-long fruit with delicate flavor; Listada de Gandia, a beautiful oval shape with light purple and white stripes; Thai green, a long slender 12-inch fruit with white flesh and green skin, and Rosa Bianca, a teardrop-shaped white eggplant with a mild flavor. And then, of course, there’s the Black Beauty, that humongous truncheon of the supermarket.

When choosing eggplants, make sure they are firm, not puckery, and feel heavy. Sometimes those grocery store eggplants are as light as Styrofoam.

Small, thin eggplants can be prepared by simply throwing them on the grill. The larger fruits can be roasted, steamed, grilled, cubed, mashed — the possibilities are endless. Here are some recipes to get you past “Eggplant 101.”

Click for recipes

Not much is brand-new on the restaurant scene this time of year as established businesses and new-this-summer eateries sprint toward the end of the busiest time of year. Come Labor Day, or Columbus Day, the fate of some of the start-ups will be clear, and those hunkering down for fall and winter business will begin to revamp menus and specials and such.

At the Living Room

The Living Room restaurant at c/o the Maidstone inn on East Hampton’s Main Street is taking reservations for two upcoming special dinners. On Sept. 15, wines from the Frank Family Vineyards in California will be served with dishes designed to complement the selections. Four courses will include pumpkin-cheese ravioli with wild mushrooms and sage; red wine-poached salmon; seared Long Island duck breast, and dark chocolate truffles with berries for dessert. The dinner will begin at 7 p.m., though sparkling rosé and nibbles will be served beginning at 6:45. The cost is $135 plus tax and gratuity. 

Swedish cuisine will take center stage at the Living Room on Sept. 29, with a five-course tasting menu reflecting the heritage of the inn’s proprietors to be served for $95 per person plus tax and gratuity.

The Living Room also has a three-course prix fixe offered for $35 on Sundays through Thursdays from 5:30 to 7 p.m. 

Zigmund’s Bar

Zigmund’s Bar, a new eating and drinking spot on the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike in Bridgehampton, is slowly getting its groove on, and with the experienced restaurateurs of Almond behind it, will certainly rev up to be an off-season regular. There are live music events and a nightly happy hour from 5:30 p.m. till sunset, featuring $5 specials of rosé, beer, and lamb chops. The kitchen is open late every night.